


I Need A Hero(in)

by Sohotthateveryonedied



Series: Whumptober 2019 [29]
Category: Batman (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Drug Withdrawal, Gen, Heroin, Hurt/Comfort, I don't know if this is supposed to be romantic or not, Prompt: Recovery, Recovery, Recreational Drug Use, Roy Harper Does Drugs, So just go with it I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 12:04:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21243794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sohotthateveryonedied/pseuds/Sohotthateveryonedied
Summary: Jason helps Roy through withdrawal. It's not fun.





	I Need A Hero(in)

**Author's Note:**

> Day 30: Recovery
> 
> This has been edited a grand total of zero times!!! So if it's bad, then know that that's why. I'm a tired gal. Also I'm dressed like Harley Quinn because trick-or-treaters are coming and also my feet are cold and yeah. I don't really know where I was going with this.

Jason walks into his and Roy’s apartment, a grocery bag hanging from his elbow. He closes the front door and tosses his keys on the counter. “Roy? You still kicking?”    
  
He is met with the sound of vomiting from somewhere across the apartment. Jason sighs, dropping the bag on the table. The drug store was only around the corner, but Jason feels bad for leaving his best friend alone even those twenty minutes.    
  
He goes to the bathroom and finds Roy hunched over the toilet, dry-heaving and spitting bile. He hasn’t eaten in a day, so it looks like there’s nothing left in him to puke up.    
  
Jason goes over and kneels beside Roy, tying his friend’s scraggly hair into a ponytail. Roy moans into the bowl. “How are you doing?”    
  
“I wanna die.”    
  
“Want a painkiller? They’re light, I swear. Baby Tylenol.”    
  
Roy shakes his head. “Told you. Cold turkey.”    
  
Last night, they (Jason; Roy locked himself in the bedroom) scoured the apartment for any remaining drugs or needles and got rid of them all. No stragglers. Total detox. He even tossed everything in the medicine cabinet, and the important things now rest in the trunk of Jason’s car.    
  
_ “I’m done making excuses,”  _ Roy said with fire in his eyes.  _ “I’m getting clean, once and for all.”  _   
  
Jason admired— _ admires _ —the determination. Roy has battled this beast for so long, and finally he’s slaying it dead. To show his support, Jason even went so far as to agree not to smoke for as long as Roy is sober.    
  
His vice is far looser than Roy’s, but still. If they’re doing this together, maybe it will make it easier on Roy. Remind him that there is someone in his corner, running right alongside him.    
  
Roy is pale and shaky, his teeth chattering between retches. It’s only his second day of withdrawal, and already he looks like shit. As proud as Jason is, it hurts to watch his friend suffer like this. He’s drenched in sweat and there are deep circles under his eyes from lack of sleep.    
  
Jason hooks his arms under Roy’s armpits and lifts him until they’re both standing. Roy is limp as a corpse, leaning all of his weight on Jason. “Come on, buddy,” Jason says. “Let’s get you to the couch.”    
  
Roy shuffles along without a word, mumbling nonsense under his breath. Jason deposits him on the couch, where Roy immediately curls up on his side, shivering. Jason throws a quilt over him before he goes to the kitchen and fills a glass with tap water.    
  
As an afterthought, he takes out a box of saltines from the shopping bag. Maybe Roy can keep a couple down this time.    
  
He brings the supplies back to Roy, setting the saltines on the coffee table. He hands over the water, which Roy takes in a weak grip. “Here. This’ll help.”    
  
Between sips, Roy mumbles, “How long’s...long’s it been?”    
  
“Almost a full day.”   
  
Roy groans, putting the glass on the table and burrowing into the couch cushions. “This...fuckin’ sucks.”    
  
Jason rubs his back. “I know. But you’ll get through this.”    
  


* * *

That night, Jason wakes up to clattering noises. He’s always been a light sleeper, even before the bat training kicked in, so he’s up and alert in seconds. He sits up in bed and strains his ears, trying to pinpoint the source. There’s quiet rustling and muffled curses coming from somewhere, deeper within the apartment.   
  
Jason gets up and goes to the living room, expecting to find Roy on the couch where he left him, but there’s no sign of him. That can’t be good.   
  
Something clatters in the bathroom, and Jason’s heart sputters. “Fuck.” He runs to the bathroom, light peeking through the crack in the doorway. He pushes open the door and freezes.   
  
Roy is crouched on the floor, prying up one of the marble tiles with a kitchen knife. His fingers are bloody, and he no doubt tore fingernails trying to pry the tile free the first time.   
  
“What the hell are you doing?” Jason demands.   
  
“Fuck off, Jay.” He gets the tile loose and grins with relief, for under the tile is a baggy of white powder and a needle. Jason can’t believe he missed it.   
  
“Roy,” he says calmly. “You’re strong. I know you are.” He eyes the knife by Roy’s knee. He_ could_ just surge in and take the drugs away, but he’s not eager to take a chance on a sick and delusional Roy Harper’s fighting skills.   
  
Roy’s eyes are bloodshot, his fingers wracked with tremors as he takes the bag gingerly, like it contains priceless rubies. “I just need one last hit is all. Just...takin’ the edge off.”   
  
“What happened to cold turkey?” Roy ignores him, so Jason makes a quick swipe for the bag.   
  
Faster than he would have thought possible for someone in the middle of withdrawal, Roy’s fist shoots out and clocks Jason in the jaw.   
  
Jason stumbles back, face throbbing. “_Ow, _son of a—” He lunges out and grabs Roy’s wrist. “Roy! Knock it off, I’m helping you!”   
  
Roy’s eyes go wild and he grabs the knife from the floor, but he’s so uncoordinated from the dope sickness that Jason easily overpowers him with one nerve strike to the wrist. He pins Roy to the ground and throws the heroin and needle across the room, not bothering to see where they land.   
  
Roy doesn’t stop struggling—screaming, biting, trying to kick Jason off. “Get the fuck off me!” he roars. “Fucking—Fucking _asshole!” _  
  
Jason’s jaw hardens. “You’ll thank me for this later.” And he slams Roy’s head against the ground. Instantly his body goes slack. He’ll have a killer headache in the morning—in addition to the one he’s already got—but at least Jason can dispose of the evidence now.   
  
He’ll have to flush the baby Tylenol too. Just in case.   
  
He climbs off of Roy and then picks him up in one swift movement. He carries him to his own bedroom and lays him on the bed. Let him catch some sleep before the next wave hits.   
  
Jason goes back to the bathroom and finds the heroin baggie that had apparently landed in the bathtub. It’s crazy to think about how something as small as a bag of powder can completely change a person.   
  
He takes the heroin, as well as a box of matches from under the sink. Jason’s footsteps are quiet as he goes out to the fire escape, letting the chilly night air seep into his skin. He leans against the railing and drops the baggie at his feet.  
  
He takes out a match and lights it, watching the flame for a moment before tossing it on top of the bag. It takes only a second to catch, and soon the little baggie is ablaze, illuminating the dark fire escape.   
  
Then, with a heavy sigh, Jason takes out a cigarette from his pocket and lights it.   
  
_Fucking asshole._  
  
He exhales softly, watching smoke billow up to the clouds.   
  


**Author's Note:**

> *raises glass of apple juice* Here's to hoping that heroin doesn't fucking explode when you set it on fire because I have no idea how drugs work.
> 
> [Feel free to mosey on down to my Tumblr!](http://sohotthateveryonedied.tumblr.com/)


End file.
